Another, more-recent Paul Graham lament about the lack of respect afforded "straight" photography. and a discussion(?) of the same essay/address, which oddly attributes a review of Jeff Wall photos to.. Jeff Wall? Misreading aside it has an interest list of conflicting viewpoints, like these:
- Conscientious: “hyperbolic, overblown, risible”
- la pura vida: OpEd: The Beautiful Burden
- Conscientious: “Continuing the debate about photography”
- Adam Bell: The Unreasonable Apple
- Touching Harms the Art by Luke Strosnider: Paul Graham — The Unreasonable Apple
- We can shoot too: “Quote of the Week – Paul Graham”
Now, this all got rolling back in February. How dare I blog about something so.... ancient?
I'm increasingly thinking that this is exactly what I should do -- like Garry Winogrand's delayed-processing piles of film canisters, which he left in storage deliberately so that he wouldn't mistake his immediate feelings about the experience of shooting for the experience of seeing the picture. So to, perhaps, it's better to give others the opportunity to shout each other down, mistaking contention for criticism. YMMV.
(And yes, I realize that pointing out a fight is not participating either -- I'll collect some opinions later, though frankly Graham seems to be just pointing himself. There is a problem. That recognition is easy. Solutions and sense about it is harder.)